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Debt Buyers and Oregon and Washington Consumers

As many consumers in Oregon and Washington are now painfully aware, debt buyers often purchase severely flawed claims. The FTC has determined that the information that debt buyers receive when they purchase debts, which is the only information they have to rely on in collecting, is often woefully inadequate. This often results in debt buyers suing the wrong Oregon or Washington consumer, or for the wrong amount, or on a debt that has long since been barred by the applicable statute of limitations. I often hear from consumers who are absolutely amazed that they are hearing from debt buyer collectors on debts that have long since been settled or even discharged in bankruptcy.

The whole game for most debt buyers is to get a default judgement so that the particulars of their severely flawed cases are not examined. In fact a recent study showed that in thousands of cases reviewed, debt buyers prevailed nearly ninety-four percent of the time and largely because only ten percent of the people sued even answered the complaint and only one percent hired an attorney. This is tragic because the same study found that thirty five percent of the cases filed were completely without merit and that in nearly seventy one percent of the cases, service was defective.

If you have been served with a summons, it’s time to contact an attorney. We represent consumers across both Oregon and Washington and we would be happy to help.